Barrel and hoop construction.



No. 893,090, PATENTED JULY 14, 1908.

1). W. McBLROY. 7

*BARREL AND HOOP CONSTRUCTION.

' APPLICATION Pump In 24. 1907 nozntoz DAVID W. McELROY,

0E KEoxUK, IOWA,

BARREL AND HOOP CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July '14, 1908.

'Application filed May 24, 1907. Serial No. 375,531.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID W. MoELRoY, citizen of the United States, residing at Keokuk, in the county of Lee and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Barrel and Hoop Constructions, of which the following is a specification.

In the manufacture of barrels it is customary to first set up the staves in a form and ap ply steam thereto for the purpose'of softening the wood and allowing it to take the proper shape, after which heat is applied to the. barrel for the purpose of removing the moisture therefrom.

The object of this invention has been to obviate the necessity of first steaming the staves and subsequently submitting them to a drying process, thereby enabling a thoroughly seasoned barrel to be produced and very materially reducing the amount of labor required for this result.

With this object in viewthe invention resides principally in the provision of an improve v means whereby the same can be expanded or contracted as desired.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction and the means for efiecting the result, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

F1gure 1 1s a side elevation of a barrel constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 isan enlarged perspective view of one of the heads applied to the ends of the bands. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the manner of connecting the ends of the bands. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view through one corner of the barrel.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followin description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

A barrel embodying the present invention comprises a plurality of staves 1 cut to a proper length and having the edges thereof correctly beveled according to the diameter of the barrel, the'said staves being held together by means of a series of hoo s, the end hoops 2 being of a flat formation w ile the intermediate hoops 3 are bulged outwardly and constitute annular ribs upon which the barrelis designed to roll when turned upon its side. The diameter of the barrel at the midbarrel hoop provided with novel dle thereof is slightly larger than that at the ends in order to admit the heads 4 of the bar rel to be placed in position when the end hoops 2 are loosened, the said heads 4 being prevented from dropping into the interior of the barrel by means of shoulders 5 formed in by a bolt 7 by means of which the hoops can be expanded or contracted to loosen the staves as required. Specifically describing the heads it will be observed that the same comprise a base 8 riveted or otherwise suitably fastened to the hoop, a side 9 formed with an opening for receiving the bolt 7, and ends 10 formed with flaps 11 engaging the rivets employed for securing the head to the hoop. It will also be observed that the outer edge of the side 9 carries a rearwardly extended flange 12 which is parallel to the base and cooperates therewith to reinforce the flange 12 and engage opposite sides of the nut 13 for the purpose of locking the same against turning. In the preferred'embodiment of the invention these heads are designed to be struck from a single piece of sheet material and bent in the proper shape as will be readily apparent from the drawings. The opposite ends of the bolts 7 are provided with right and left hand threads respectively While the intermediate portion of each of the bolts has an angular or squarev formation as at 14 to admit of the bolts being readily turned by a wrench or suitable tool for the purpose of tightening or loosening the hoop. In the present instance the nuts 13 are shown as having the bases thereof curved to properly adjust them to the bearings. The alternate intermediate hoops 3 have the heads applied thereto and arranged upon opposite sides of the barrel whereby the latter can be rolled continuously upon the ribs constituted by the bulged bands without interference by the fastening members. This manner of constructing a barrel has the advantage of elimitighten or nating the steaming and subsequent drying process and thereby reduces the amount of labor required and at the same time enables a thoroughly seasoned barrel to be produced. It will also be readily apparent that these hoops can be readily tightened to prevent leakage when the barrel is in use.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. The combination of a band, a head applied to each end of the band and comprising a base secured to the band, a side projecting laterally from one edge of the base and provided with an opening, ends projecting from the base and reinforcing the side, and a flange projecting rearwardly from the outer edge of the side and disposed parallel to the base, a bolt passing through the openings in the sides of the two heads, and nuts cooperating with the bolt and received between the base and rearwardly extending flange of the heads.

2. The combination of a band, a head applied to each end of the band, and bolts connecting the heads, the said heads being each formed from a single piece of sheet metal and comprising a base, a side projecting outwardly from the base for engaging the before mentioned bolt, and ends extending rearwardly from the side and carrying flaps which are bent laterally and secured to the base.

3. The combination of a band, a head applied to each end of the band, and a bolt connecting the heads, each of the heads being formed of sheet material and comprising a base, a side projecting outwardly from the base for engagement with the before mentioned bolt, ends extending l'caiwv'al'dly from the side and carrying flaps which are bent laterally and secured to the base, and a flange extending rearwardly from the side for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID W. M oELROY.

Witnesses:

D. H. ANNABLE, HUGH H. CRAIG. 

